US Government wants to deport Pak informant

Published: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 16:42 [IST]

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Lahore, July 2 (ANI): The US Government wants to deport a Pakistani immigrant who helped it in its war on terror by working as an undercover informant in California for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ICE agents told him that he could stay in the US indefinitely if helped them, according to CBS News.

The man, originally from Karachi, has lived in the US for over 20 years. The ICE agents had approached him in 2004 after he was charged with overstaying his visa.

"They told me if I helped them they would get me a green card, but later they changed their statement and they said I can stay in the United States indefinitely," he said.

In exchange, they wanted him to work as a confidential informant, to help crack another case. His lawyer, Katherine Lewis, said, "They needed him to wear a wire and go to an asylum interview with this notary, who had been repeatedly filing false asylum claims, but they needed the evidence to show that he was actually doing this."

His work paid off. The government indicted the man who pleaded guilty on two counts. But the agents had another job for him, the Daily Times reported.

"They said go to the mosque and talk to the people and engage them in conversation to find out if there's any activity going on like money laundering, or if there's terrorist activity going on in the United States." He did for three years.

At the same time he had to go to court for a deportation hearing himself. So he says he asked the agents if he needed a lawyer.

"They told me to take the deportation order. They said don't worry." He said he followed their advice and waived his appeals.

ICE would not discuss its confidential informants but sent CBS a list of 'relevant' facts. It said its former informant had no right to stay. But Lewis said, "Who's going to cooperate if this is the way you treat your informants?" She has filed motions to get the man a new hearing. ICE also says over the last 15 years, "Mr A" had filed two applications for immigration benefits that proved fraudulent. (ANI)